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Topic Review (Newest First)

07-04-2011 05:35 AM

sampster5000

A San Antonian! Good to see some more guys from here on the forum. Come by Alamo Aquatics sometime and I can help you with your tank

So only VHO? Will I need to continue using CO2 and would this setup allow me to keep a large variety of plant species?

Sorry for asking so many questions, I'm a real noob when it comes to plants.

Thank you everyone!

07-03-2011 07:20 PM

HolyAngel

+1 swap those actinics for 6500-10k bulbs and run those only and you should be golden ^^

07-03-2011 06:40 PM

jcgd

Louis, do you know if those VHO are stronger than T5HO? You might want to think about using them only.

07-03-2011 06:19 PM

Kathyy

I have 150 watt MH over a 24" deep tank and it is very bright at the substrate, 40" below. 2 fixtures over a 5' tank was fine but am going with 3 over an 8' tank as the corners are too dim for my liking, 6' may be fine/may not. Go with 175 or 150 watts if you change the MH and they may need to be raised up even though your tank is deeper than mine. Possibly the VHOs with 6500-1000K lamps would be enough by themselves, usually 2 full lengths of T5HO bulbs is enough for planted tanks, but I am unfamiliar with the strength of VHO.

07-03-2011 08:09 AM

LouisBueno

215 Gallon Reef to Planted

I am needing some advice. I have an oceanic 215 gallon reef ready aquarium. The dimensions are 72"x24"x30" filtration is done through a 55 gallon sump with an iwaki 30RLT as a return. I have an RO/DI unit plumbed into the fish room.

I currently have 2x 400w 15K metal halides in Luminarc reflectors with 2x 72" VHO actinics. From all the reading I've done this is way to much light for plants. I have a calcium reactor so I already have co2 tank, regulator, and ph monitor. I don't want to be limited to the types of plants I can keep. What are my options? I don't mind replacing ballasts to lower watt versions if I have to.